Arsenal don hear warning from Southampton coach Tonda Eckert ahead of their FA Cup quarter-final match wey go hold on Saturday night for St Mary's Stadium. The German coach talk say him don find “couple” of areas wey him team fit use wound Arsenal for the big match.
Southampton dey come into this game with strong form, dem no lose for their last 14 matches. But dem still remain underdogs as dem dey Championship side wey dey fight for promotion, while Arsenal dey top of Premier League table with nine points lead and seven games remain.
Eckert praise Arsenal well well during him pre-match press conference on Friday. “It is a great team,” the man talk. “I think rightfully every single manager in a press conference praises what Arsenal does and I can only continue that praise.”
But the coach still add say: “You see that they do have answers to many possible solutions, but I think we have found a couple of bits where we are able to hurt them and we just need to make sure we bring that on the pitch.”
This FA Cup quarter-final na important match for Arsenal wey just lose Carabao Cup final to Manchester City two weeks ago. Mikel Arteta men dem dey look for quick return to Wembley for FA Cup, competition wey Arsenal don win record 14 times.
Southampton get some injury and suspension wahala for their squad. Midfielders Flynn Downes and Kuryu Matsuki dey suspended after dem collect yellow cards for back-to-back FA Cup matches. Brazilian winger Leo Scienza dey expected to return after missing last three games with groin strain.
Captain Jack Stephens dey progress well after ankle injury wey him collect during open training session on Monday. Striker Cyle Larin dey expected to be available after long trip on international duty with Canada.
For Arsenal side, injury list long well well. Eberechi Eze, Piero Hincapie, Noni Madueke and Mikel Merino dey injured. Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka dey among several doubts, meaning Max Dowman fit start.
But Arteta get some positive news. Martin Ødegaard and Jurriën Timber dey “in contention to possibly be in the squad” after dem miss Carabao Cup final. Madueke knee injury no serious as dem first fear.
Arteta talk say: “No, it’s not [serious]. It looked really bad, Noni was really worried especially after what happened to him in his other knee a few weeks ago. He was out for six weeks [last time], but no, he’s nowhere near that injury, so that’s really good news.”
This match go hold on Saturday, April 4 with kick-off time na 8pm GMT. BBC One and TNT Sports 1 & 5 go show the game live for UK. For US, ESPN go carry am, SonyLIV for India, and Stan Sport for Australia.
Arsenal dey face busy schedule after this match. Dem go travel to face Sporting CP for Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday, then dem go welcome Bournemouth to Emirates Stadium for Premier League.
Southampton too get important match after this FA Cup tie. Dem go face Wrexham for Championship promotion six-pointer, wey fit make Eckert consider rotation for Arsenal game.
Arsenal record for St Mary’s no too strong. Dem win last visit to the ground with late Ødegaard winner, but dem lose twice for their last four visits, including last time both teams meet for FA Cup.
Statistics show say Arsenal don score 22 goals from set-pieces for Premier League this season, same as Southampton 22 set-piece goals for Championship. Overall, Arsenal don score 114 goals from 50 games while Southampton don score 74 goals from 45 games.
Arsenal only win two of their last five games against Southampton, although both wins na last time both teams meet for 2024/25 Premier League season.
Southampton fans wey go full St Mary’s go make atmosphere tough for Arsenal visitors. Mansfield Town already cause Arsenal backline plenty problems for fifth round, and dem only escape with Eze brilliant winner.
Eckert style for surprise lineups fit catch Arsenal off guard. Arteta know say FA Cup exit fit affect him squad morale as dem dey chase Premier League and Champions League titles.
Arsenal injury situation dey make team selection tricky. But dem still get strong squad wey fit defeat Southampton. Kepa Arrizabalaga, Cristhian Mosquera, Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Christian Nørgaard, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Viktor Gyökeres and young players like Marli Salmon and Max Dowman all dey available.
Southampton current form dey give dem hope. Dem don win six of their last seven games, run wey don push dem to sixth position for Championship table. Dem already beat Premier League opposition Fulham 1-0 for fifth round of FA Cup.
Match referee na Sam Barrott. The venue na St Mary’s Stadium for Southampton. Kick-off time na 8pm GMT on Saturday, April 4.
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